Induction Lounge by ESH

This is the first release under the artist name ESH, a progression from Equanim Sound Healing, and formerly Equanim for multiple genres before that.



Stephen Boyd has been a lifetime musician beginning piano lessons at the age of 4. Classically and jazz trained, Stephen began explorations with keyboards, sequencers and samplers as a teenager, moving genre to genre blending them together producing music ever since. His favourite thing to produce was always an atmospheric beginning of a song, or a breakdown in the middle where the drums cut out etc. Those moments of beauty and stillness was always a highlight of his music.



With major life changes after disabling auto-immune disorders, Stephen began listening to hypnotherapy which often had relaxing background music. He thought to himself, “I have all this equipment, I should make this music” and has never turned back. Excited by the prospect of never having to record vocal takes, mix in drums or baselines, or do impressive solos again, that music could just be that beautiful wash of warm feelings and never have to leave that space. Feeling truly liberated, simplifying melodies into their core notes, focusing on effects and subtle changes in frequencies and filters, music making became meditation.



His studio and process is a complete reflection of this.

Everything is recorded live onto 2 stereo tracks, so there is no multitracking or editing, and the studio process is the same as live performance. He has limited himself to 4 stereo inputs and 4 mono inputs as can only play so many synths at one time, and doesn’t want to have equipment in the studio that isn’t being used. In just focusing on a few synthesizers it is easier to really learn how to make better “patches” or sounds. Which is his favourite activity before heading to bed. Often a song is made just by creating a pad sound and then loading up other synths to layer other pads/noises on top of that. With a lot of use of the hold/latch button, chords are held, pads are layered and melodies are played over top on a fully hardware setup including all the forms of synthesis including analog, digital, hybrid, wavetable, granular, fm, samples, noise, and modular all ran through varying amounts of a gorgeous reverb pedal. Sometimes a real piano and Tibetan sound bowls end up in the works, as well as live recordings. For example the song “mindful rain” was recorded live with a microphone at the window that picked up some children playing out in the rain when really, all he wanted to record was the rain.

It turned out well though.



This album, and the name ESH is a result of taking a step in slowing down, and simplicity. After listening to many YouTube videos of the best synthesizers making the most gorgeous sounds they can, ESH has done his best to learn from those musicians, and to layer the best sounds, moving at a pace that warms the heart, calms the mind, and brings coherence to your being. Every song was a meditation, breathing with the movements of the hands and loving intentions.



Stephen’s professional work links live music with gentle relaxing hypnotherapy during ambient sound baths. In hypnotherapy, induction is the process of relaxing the client so they can go into a state of trance where helpful positive messages can be suggested to your subconscious, which can improve our internal dialogue to be more positive and helpful while removing limiting beliefs. The concept of Induction Lounge, is to be able to relax yourself into a state of induction, but still be able to function in a conscious environment.



So, you can meditate with this album, or you can go about your daily tasks with this in the background. Either way its purpose is to nurture a sense of peace and wellbeing.

pure imagination.

an ambient label by kilometre club

imaginarynorth.ca
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